With the year coming to an end, you’ll likely see dozens of articles suggesting ways to reduce your taxes and improve your portfolio. If you’ve been engaged with our newsletter for a while, you know we favor making regular tweaks throughout the year to minimize taxes and maximize total return over the long-term. That said, we love a good tip or trick just as much as the next guy, so we’ve compiled a few of our favorites you can implement in December to help reduce your tax bill in 2019.

INCREASE YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN CONTRIBUTIONS

The maximum amount you can contribute to an employer retirement, such as 401(k), is $19,000 for 2019. If you are age 50 or older, you can take advantage of an additional “catch-up” contribution of $6,000. Likewise, you can contribute a maximum of $6,000 to an IRA with an added $1,000 if you are 50 or older. Generally, you have until December 31, 2019, to contribute to an employer retirement plan and until April 15, 2020, to contribute to an IRA.

If you are self-employed, you may want to consider establishing an individual 401(k). The plan must be established and partially funded before year-end and should be done under the guidance of a CPA.

USE HSA TO PLAN FOR FUTURE HEALTH CARE COSTS.

For those with a high deductible health insurance plan, you are eligible to contribute up to $3,500 and $7,000 for families in 2019 ($8,000 if you are age 55 and over) to a Health Savings Accounts. Similar to a 529 plan, contributions made to an HSA grow tax-free and withdrawals used to pay for qualified medical expenses are also tax-free.

FUND A 529 EDUCATION SAVINGS PLAN

Contributions made to a 529 plan grow tax-free and withdrawals made for qualified education expenses are also tax-free. You can give up to $15,000 per beneficiary each year ($30,000 from a married couple) without filing a gift tax return. With some restrictions, it is possible to give more with “superfunding” (5 years at one time.)

DONATE TO CHARITY USING APPRECIATED STOCK

If you itemize on your tax returns, giving away appreciated stock allows you to not only deduct the full market value of the donation but also avoid paying capital gains on that appreciation. If you make donations on a regular annual basis but do not qualify to itemize, you may consider putting several years of gifts in a donor-advised fund. This may allow you to itemize your deductions in the current year while maintaining control over the specific timing of your donations to qualified charities over time.

With the 2019 World Series in full swing, join Matt for his conversation with the brilliant and all-round nice guy, author of the New York Times Bestseller Astroball: The New Way to Win It All. Ben shares the inside story of how GM Jeff Luhnow and his team went beyond the stats to find a new way to win—and not just in baseball.

Listen to the episode here

You’re busy.

Not a minute goes by without a notification, a phone call, or a person asking for “ a quick second” vying for your attention. At times, life can feel like a treadmill that moves faster and faster— sometimes making you wonder how much of that movement equates to real forward motion.

It should come as no surprise that the distracted, divided life can put a strain on our relationships. Not just at the office, but with our loved ones. When we feel compelled to micro-manage the details, it’s impossible to devote sustained attention to any one important task or person.

What can possibly be done?

The answer may lie in The Power of Full Engagement, a book written nearly two decades ago by a performance psychologist and a renowned business consultant. If you give it a read, you’ll realize how seamlessly the lessons apply to cultivating healthy relationships, as well as a healthy work life. 

Here are our top three takeaways from the book:

1. Energy is often more valuable than time.

Time management is certainly important for any sustainable relationship or career. But as authors Loehr and Schwartz note, understanding how to effectively channel the energy you have during your waking hours, as well as your time, can transform every aspect of your life.

“The number of hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy available to us is not,” say the authors. “It is our most precious resource. The more we take responsibility for the energy we bring to the world, the more empowered and productive we become.”

2. It’s OK to disengage

Most of us would like to live our lives fully engaged from dawn to dusk and put forth 100% effort at every waking moment. But truthfully, that’s not sustainable. We need to practice disengaging: from work, from the glow of the screen, and yes, even from loved ones. 

Taking a true break might feel uncomfortable at first, but it’s the key to restoring balance in all aspects of life. Take a walk. Read a book. Watch the sunset. We predict the important people in your world will be able to tell the difference.

3. Treat rest with the same respect as action

The average human has a “high performance mode” of about 90 minutes. In this window, we can remain alert, creative, and resilient. And then there’s a wall. Motivational speakers might tell you to push through the fatigue, but science begs to differ.

After 90 minutes of intense activity (this can range from holding a conversation to hiking a mountain) the brain and body need a rest period of about 20 minutes. This quick recovery maintains your ultradian rhythm (the ebb and flow of energy).

At Hill Investment Group, we call this “Tea Time,” which one of our other favorite authors Laura Vanderkam referenced in her podcast a few months ago.

One of the main points in the book is gaining energy from regularly identifying and revisiting your core values. We have found this to be a powerful energy source.

We hope you find The Power of Full Engagement as valuable as our team has. Got a favorite book of your own? Shoot us a note – we are always looking for recommendations!  

Now, close your browser and open a book.